Still Chimping

StepheKoontz · Jun 9, 2019

I was out shooting with my Leica IIIc the other day and after each shot I caught myself looking at the back of the camera like Pavlov's dog. #facepalm

Anyone else do this?

Carter john · Jun 9, 2019

I don't chimp, but when I shoot, even with my IIIf, people say can I see that photo.

Rick A · Jun 9, 2019

Never done it even once, but then I only use a cheap P&S digi to photo what I'm selling. Once someone did ask to see the shot I just took with my Fuji 690, his wife did a facepalm.

BrianShaw · Jun 9, 2019

Don’t do that, but I incessantly feel my rewind knob to make sure the film is spooling out. We all have weird habits.

runswithsizzers · Jun 9, 2019

There is not much to look at on the back of my film cameras either. Switching back and forth between film and digital cameras can be confusing. I am constantly trying to find the film advance lever on my digital cameras (and the gearshift lever on my wife's automatic transmission car). The biggest shock for me is the joy of looking through the big, bright viewfinder of my Pentax SLRs, and the disappointment of going back to the relatively small electronic viewfinders of my mirrorless cameras.

Luckless · Jun 9, 2019

I turned auto-preview off on my digital cameras ages ago to avoid wasting battery power to display previews I'm not actually going to look at. Rear screen stays off unless I deliberately press the button to show it.

I found it far less distracting that way, and removed a lot of the natural urge to review each and every photo I took.

StepheKoontz · Jun 9, 2019

runswithsizzers said:
The biggest shock for me is the joy of looking through the big, bright viewfinder of my Pentax SLRs, and the disappointment of going back to the relatively small electronic viewfinders of my mirrorless cameras.

The viewfinder on even my D4 is pathetic compared to a Pentax AP, much less my OM1.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 9, 2019

StepheKoontz said:
I was out shooting with my Leica IIIc the other day and after each shot I caught myself looking at the back of the camera like Pavlov's dog. #facepalm

Anyone else do this?

On my X-Pro1, my chosen settings retain the just-shot photo in the viewfinder for about a second (obviously I don't shoot sports). With my D700 and the Fuji, I review my photos on the rear screen much later after my shooting - so if I miss a shot, it's too late to re-shoot.

This learned behaviour (of waiting) is from shooting film since I was about 11 (early 1960's).

jtk · Jun 9, 2019

Theo Sulphate said:
On my X-Pro1, my chosen settings retain the just-shot photo in the viewfinder for about a second (obviously I don't shoot sports). With my D700 and the Fuji, I review my photos on the rear screen much later after my shooting - so if I miss a shot, it's too late to re-shoot.

This learned behaviour (of waiting) is from shooting film since I was about 11 (early 1960's).

Chan Tran · Jun 9, 2019

I do chimp often when using a digital camera but never with a film camera.

DWThomas · Jun 9, 2019

I sometimes chimp on my Canon A-1 to see if the little frame in the back says "FP-4" or "TMX400." But I do at least sometimes chimp on the digi-stuff -- I mean hey, it's another tool in the arsenal!

Vaughn · Jun 9, 2019

Yes -- I will often reopen the lens after removing the film holder and check the GG to make sure that I did not move the camera. I sometimes forget to lock down all the dang knobs on the camera and tripod (4x5 to 11x14 -- all have different knobs in different places!)

Rick A · Jun 9, 2019

Vaughn said:
Yes -- I will often reopen the lens after removing the film holder and check the GG to make sure that I did not move the camera. I sometimes forget to lock down all the dang knobs on the camera and tripod (4x5 to 11x14 -- all have different knobs in different places!)

So it's not just me that has to do that.

Vaughn · Jun 9, 2019

Rick A said:
So it's not just me that has to do that.

Well -- sometimes I do it just because I am so pleased with the set-up that I just want to see it on the GG again...

Rick A · Jun 9, 2019

Vaughn said:
Well -- sometimes I do it just because I am so pleased with the set-up that I just want to see it on the GG again...

I used to shoot a 4x5 B&J Speed Press and a 5x7 Commercial View, both simple to set up. Now I'm shooting a Dorff clone and find it fiddly, more knobs than I'm used to diddling with, and under the focus cloth it gets frustrating. I've blown a couple of really nice shots because of it, so now I look.

Alan Edward Klein · Jun 9, 2019

I keep waiting for the instant replay whenever I go to a ball park.

Berkeley Mike · Jun 9, 2019

I tell my Intro to Digital students to look at the LCD after each shot and do an analysis; you would be a fool not to use such a tool, especially when you are just learning to understand exposure. I also have them bracket so that they can analyze exposures on the computer as they really don't know what a good exposure is yet. As they become more fluid we add the Histogram to appreciate highlights and dark tones.

I watch new students develop terribly exposed or blank rolls or rolls of poor focus or DoF. I don't listen to that blue-collar attitude that shooting without the LCD teaches you...fill in the blank here. It is a waste of time and materials. The digital students after 1 semester far outstrip the film students in their ability to handle a camera. The folk who can teach anything but film refuse to admit that. We just got rid of one of those, thank goodness.

Film folk don't have that facility. If they did from the git-go, they would be fools not to use it. If you don't use it now because you have a zillion years of experience, well, more power to ya. If you don't want to use it for any reason (look ma, no hands) that is up to you. To decry such a method as chimping is being small and smarmy. I'm not impressed. Sneering is not an argument.

Berkeley Mike · Jun 9, 2019

StepheKoontz said:
The viewfinder on even my D4 is pathetic compared to a Pentax AP, much less my OM1.

The view on the LCD can be magnified many times and allows you to scroll about the image to check for focus, DoF and exposure values. That is far superior to looking through any viewfinder.

Ariston · Jun 9, 2019

Carter john said:
I don't chimp, but when I shoot, even with my IIIf, people say can I see that photo.

^^^ This happens to me constantly!

Sweetlou42 · Jun 9, 2019

Berkeley Mike said:
I tell my Intro to Digital students to look at the LCD after each shot and do an analysis; you would be a fool not to use such a tool, especially when you are just learning to understand exposure. I also have them bracket so that they can analyze exposures on the computer as they really don't know what a good exposure is yet. As they become more fluid we add the Histogram to appreciate highlights and dark tones.

I watch new students develop terribly exposed or blank rolls or rolls of poor focus or DoF. I don't listen to that blue-collar attitude that shooting without the LCD teaches you...fill in the blank here. It is a waste of time and materials. The digital students after 1 semester far outstrip the film students in their ability to handle a camera. The folk who can teach anything but film refuse to admit that. We just got rid of one of those, thank goodness.

Film folk don't have that facility. If they did from the git-go, they would be fools not to use it. If you don't use it now because you have a zillion years of experience, well, more power to ya. If you don't want to use it for any reason (look ma, no hands) that is up to you. To decry such a method as chimping is being small and smarmy. I'm not impressed. Sneering is not an argument.

StepheKoontz said:
I was out shooting with my Leica IIIc the other day and after each shot I caught myself looking at the back of the camera like Pavlov's dog. #facepalm

Anyone else do this?

What is chimping, sorry for ignorance

Kino · Jun 9, 2019

Luckless said:
I turned auto-preview off on my digital cameras ages ago to avoid wasting battery power to display previews I'm not actually going to look at. Rear screen stays off unless I deliberately press the button to show it.

I found it far less distracting that way, and removed a lot of the natural urge to review each and every photo I took.

+1

I think there's enough room in this World to allow everyone to choose how they operate rather than dogmatically decrying any one certain way of operating. But of course, I might be BLUE COLLAR to think this way; common scum that I am...

Is there a full moon out tonight?

rayonline_nz · Jun 10, 2019

If you talk about chimping I shoot it and then I look at my camera and stand there and think and question my exposure and occasionally I might shoot another 2 or 3.

MattKing · Jun 10, 2019

Sweetlou42 said:
What is chimping, sorry for ignorance

To "chimp" is sort of an abbreviation of "check image" - used with a bit of a derogatory tone by some.

awty · Jun 10, 2019

With my views and pinhole cameras I use a directors view phone app, can set it to format, or lens size (within reason), can make it black and white, have grids or not, even take a phone picture and send it to my laptop. Saves a lot of guess work and setting up of the camera and ultimately time and money. Guess thats chimping of some sorts........and Im a blue-collar worker, dont see the correlation between doing manual labour and anal retentiveness.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 10, 2019

jtk said:
...

Berkeley Mike said:
...
Film folk don't have that facility. If they did from the git-go, they would be fools not to use it. If you don't use it now because you have a zillion years of experience, well, more power to ya. If you don't want to use it for any reason (look ma, no hands) that is up to you. To decry such a method as chimping is being small and smarmy. I'm not impressed. Sneering is not an argument.

Not sure if anyone was sneering - certainly not my intent.

I should apologize because I've discovered that how I write or say things often confuses people - sometimes to the exact opposite of what I mean. I will have to be more careful.

To this matter... I'm just not in the habit of looking at my photos after I made them. I agree this could be to my detriment. As you say - and I agree - there's no problem with people using all the tools at their disposal.

Still Chimping

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